Fazalhaq Farooqi is an Afghan cricketer who plays as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He is one of the emerging pace bowlers of the Afghanistan national cricket team and has impressed with his speed and swing. He made his international debut for Afghanistan in March 2020 and has been a part of the team since then.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was born on 22 September 2000 in Baghlan, Afghanistan. His father, Abdul Qayum, was a farmer and his mother, Zainab, was a homemaker. He has three brothers and two sisters. He belongs to the Zadran tribe of Afghanistan. He was passionate about cricket since his childhood and his father introduced him to the game when he was nine years old. He studied at King Khaled Institute, Stamford College and American International University of Bangladesh.
Fazalhaq Farooqi is married to his cousin, Samia Parvin, who is a psychology student at Dhaka University. They tied the knot on 22 March 2019 and have a daughter who was born in November 2020. He follows Islam and his hobbies include fishing, playing video games and watching movies. His favourite quote is "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
Fazalhaq Farooqi started playing cricket as a batsman and bowler and joined the Afghanistan Cricket Board's academy in 2015. He played for the Afghanistan under-15 and under-17 teams before making his first-class debut for Amo Region in the 2017 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament on 13 November 2017. He made his List A debut for Amo Region in the 2018 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament on 10 July 2018. He was the leading wicket-taker for Amo Region in both tournaments, with 20 wickets in four matches and 17 wickets in five matches respectively. He made his Twenty20 debut for Boost Defenders in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League on 14 September 2017. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League. He made his Twenty20 debut for Rajshahi Rangers in the Bangladesh Premier League on 25 November 2019.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He scored an unbeaten century in the final of the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup and helped Afghanistan to win their maiden ACC Under-19 Cup title. In December 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's under-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. In November 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh. In February 2020, he was named in Afghanistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Ireland. In March 2020, he made his T20I debut for Afghanistan, against Ireland, on 8 March 2020. He took two wickets in that match and helped Afghanistan win by 11 runs. In July 2021, he made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Afghanistan, against Pakistan, on 16 July 2021. He took one wicket in that match but Afghanistan lost by three wickets.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has played 6 ODIs for Afghanistan till date, scoring 2 runs at an average of 1.00. His highest score is 2 against Pakistan in July 2021. He has also taken 8 wickets at an average of 28.62. His best bowling figures are 2/28 against Pakistan in July 2021.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has played 14 T20Is for Afghanistan till date, scoring 5 runs at an average of 2.50. His highest score is 4 not out against Zimbabwe in September 2020. He has also taken 16 wickets at an average of 21.00. His best bowling figures are 4/15 against Ireland in March 2020.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has not played any Test matches for Afghanistan till date.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has not captained Afghanistan in any format of the game. He has, however, led Amo Region and Rajshahi Rangers in domestic cricket.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was fined 15 percent of his match fee for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an ODI against Pakistan in July 2021. He was also reprimanded for using inappropriate language during a T20I against Zimbabwe in September 2020.